Martin Sheen Cited at Anti-Nuke Protest

MERCURY, Nev. – Martin Sheen was among a group of peace activists cited during an anti-nuclear protest Sunday at the Nevada Test Site, authorities said.

A total of 39 protesters, including Sheen, were released after being cited by sheriff's deputies for crossing onto test site property following the rally, test site spokesman Darwin Morgan said.

Organizers said about 150 people attended the demonstration, but Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo said it was only 75.

"We are asking for nuclear disarmament and peace," organizer Ming Lai said. "We are asking for the Nevada Test Site to stop doing the testing they're doing. The only reason they're doing it is to make bombs."

Sheen, who spent seven seasons playing President Josiah Bartlet on the TV drama series "The West Wing," has received similar citations at the test site in the past.

Calls to Sheen's publicist and agent Sunday were not immediately returned.

The site, about 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is where the federal government conducted above- and below-ground nuclear detonations from 1951 to 1992. It remains a site for non-nuclear government tests on radioactive materials.